Light Nutella Banana Bread

After having Mother here for a week tending to all of our meals, I had to reorient myself with the kitchen to turn out breakfast this morning.  I fell immediately in lust with Cooking Light’s Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread when flipping through the October issue and shockingly had every ingredient on hand!

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread (slightly edited from the original to exclude the nuts)

• 5 tablespoons Nutella
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 medium ripe bananas
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup whole buttermilk
• Baking spray with flour (such as Baker’s Joy)
• 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine chocolate-hazelnut spread and 1 teaspoon oil in a microwave-safe dish; microwave at HIGH for 30 seconds or until melted. Stir. Combine 3 tablespoons oil, butter, brown sugar, and banana in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beating at low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat just until combined. Scrape half of batter into a 9 x 5-inch metal loaf pan coated with baking spray, and top with chocolate-hazelnut spread mixture. Spread remaining batter over chocolate mixture. Using a wooden pick, swirl batter.
4. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread; cool on wire rack.
5. Place bittersweet chocolate in a microwave-safe dish; microwave at high for 30 seconds. Drizzle bread with chocolate; let stand until set.

Y’all this stuff is sinful. SINFUL, I tell you!  And the fact that it came out of a “light” magazine and has fruit in it pretty much makes it healthy, right?  :-)  I could seriously lounge out here on the porch all fat and happy for the rest of the day, alas we have a Tech game, a baseball game, and a concert to attend.  Fall is flat out our craziest time of the year.
xoxo